


Puppet On A String

by JanusSchuyler



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Deceit | Janus Sanders-centric, Gen, Hypnosis, I'm not gonna spoil it for you, Mind Control, Morality | Patton Sanders-centric, Partial Mind Control, Unsympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), Unsympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, non-romantic, well not exactly hypnosis or mind control but kinda?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26167216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanusSchuyler/pseuds/JanusSchuyler
Summary: Janus doesn't like the way Patton handles things. So he decides to... shall we say... show him the correct path.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	1. Good Guy

**Author's Note:**

> I swear I'll have a new chapter of Hydra out soon, but in the meantime there's this! Just some more angst, because I'm in A Mood. Have fun and enjoy!

If Patton had one flaw, it was that he was extremely gullible. Janus had known that since he had first seen Morality. He was easily manipulated that way - he’d believe anything as long as you were nice about it. And being nice - well, putting on a facade of niceness, anyway - was easy. Pretending to be the good guy was Janus’ specialty. Once people thought you were the good guy, you could get away with anything you wanted. After all, how could you be wrong? You’re on their side, and therefore what you do has to be in their interest. Right? The good guy was always correct, and that was the key to manipulation.

Janus had been working on Patton for about two weeks now, since he had told the light sides his name. The moral side had taken to him almost immediately. He seemed to see Janus as a softie who just needed love, and so Janus played along. He let Patton pamper him, pretended to be interested when he went on long rants about things he loved. And Patton had grown to trust him. Perfect - he would be easy to take care of when the time finally came. The snake wasn’t doing all this manipulation for nothing, after all. There was a point, and a good one at that. Patton was letting his emotions get in the way of decision making. He was constantly worried about what was good, or bad, or what was best for others. It made him weak. It made Thomas weak. And Janus simply couldn’t have that. It needed to change, and so change it would.

It wouldn’t be much longer before Patton was ready. Hell, he could probably do it sometime next week. Just a few words and he would be perfect. It was almost too simple, really. How easily he would fall into his trap. Well, not a trap, exactly. More… assistance, if you would. He certainly wouldn’t do it all on his own. He almost never did anything that wasn’t pure “good” without a little nudge. And Janus’ plans definitely didn’t fall under that category. And maybe Patton wouldn’t be aware that he was being helped until afterward, and maybe he’d be a bit angry, but did that really matter all that much? He’d realize that Janus was right, and if he didn’t… well, that could also be helped along.


	2. Finally Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A casual movie night takes a turn when Janus finally decides that it's time for him to work his magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'll get more of Hydra written soon, but I had a sudden burst of inspiration and couldn't resist. You'll probably never get a chapter this long from me ever again, so savor it while you still can, my loves.

Two and a half weeks since Janus had arrived, the snake was sitting on the couch with Patton by his side. They were watching a movie - Janus didn’t know which one, he wasn’t really paying attention - while Patton chattered about something Roman was working on. Patton was fully invested in the story, with hand movements and excited tone, nearly elbowing Janus in the face a few times. Energetic as ever. But Janus knew what was really going on in his head. Patton was exhausting himself mentally, keeping up this show of being okay. He wasn’t okay, Janus knew. It was in everything about him. The dark circles under his eyes, hastily shapeshifted away. The way his body sank into the couch despite the quick arm movements, grateful for the rest. He was hiding his mental state - but unlike Janus, Patton was terrible at masking his true emotions. 

Janus grabbed his arm gently, almost elbowed in the face again. “Please be careful, Patton, you’ll hurt yourself. Calm your movements. We’ve talked about this.” His voice was soft, amused. Not scolding. He knew better than to be anything other than sweet to Patton. And the statement was true. He had talked to Patton about this before, to be careful with his movements. Patton was clumsy, and half of that was his excited hand gestures. There were… other reasons... Patton needed to stop, but even Janus, despite his dislike of the light sides, hated to see the fatherly side hurt by anything, let alone something as trivial as a coffee table. Even if this particular technique didn’t help further his plan, at least Patton would be more mindful about his movements and hopefully less clumsy. 

Patton smiled. “Right, sorry!” He put his arm back to his side.

“No need to apologize. It takes time to learn to be mindful, I know. You’ll get it.” Janus smiled back, warm and honeyed. Perfect and put together, as always. 

“Sometimes I think I won’t ever get it.” Patton said sadly, reaching for the hot cocoa on the table beside the couch. “I feel useless.”

“Patton,” Janus took his palm in a gloved hand and gave it a light squeeze. “You can’t have that mindset. You’ll get nowhere. You can do it. I know you can.” 

Patton nodded, cheered by the encouragement. “You’re right.”

Janus couldn’t resist taking the praise. “I always am.” He smirked goofily, the same one he had given Thomas at the beginning of all this. It wasn’t manipulation - he genuinely enjoyed the compliments. It was one of his few weaknesses. There was something about the validation that was almost addictive, and the fact he knew full well it was all just a chemical reaction in his head did nothing. Knowledge couldn’t save him from his own being. 

"But anyway-” Patton launched headfirst back into his story, leaving the lord of the lies to his own thoughts while he pretended to pay attention. To be honest, sometimes Janus wanted to be like Patton. There was something endearing about his eternal happiness, even if it was half-fake. But he pushed that thought away. Patton, despite his sweetness, was weak. An unguarded attitute was a death sentence for someone as disliked as Janus. Because even if Patton loved him, the attitude of the other sides toward him… ranged. Virgil and Roman both hated him, for various reasons. Logan seemed guarded but neutral, and Remus… well, Remus had been MIA for a few weeks now. Janus had no idea where he was, nor his thoughts on the situation.

He felt a hand on his arm. “Janus, are you with me? You look tired. Oh no, I’m sorry, I’ve been keeping you up, you must be tired, are you okay-” Patton rambled. Janus shook his head slightly, dislodging himself from his inner monologue. 

Sorry, I got lost in thought for a second there. I’m fine, Patton.” He made eye contact with him and suddenly everything clicked. He hadn’t planned on doing this today, but when would a better chance come by? Now was the time. He took a deep breath and took Patton’s hands gently in his own. “I’m perfectly awake. I’d say the better question is: are you doing okay?

Patton smiled softly. “I’m perfectly fine, Janus.” 

The bitter taste of a lie bloomed across Janus’ tongue, something he was all too familiar with. “Patton… please don’t lie to me. It hurts.” His voice was low, woven with a strangely compelling tone, something he’d practiced for years but hadn’t used in ages. Magical.

“I would never!” Patton blinked a few times, trying to dispel the strange heavy feeling that had hit him suddenly. 

"Please tell me the truth. You know I can tell when you aren’t, darling.” His entire demeanor had changed, dropping the facade he’d put up for Patton. He was still warm, but in a different way. There was something to it that was almost impossible to describe. The sort of kindness that made you let down your guard even though you knew you shouldn’t. Soft and gentle, yet coated in a layer of darkness. Irresistible. 

“Okay, so I’m a bit tired…” he frowned at his own words, trying to return to his guarded state. He didn’t know why he was telling the truth to Janus. Sure, he felt bad hiding his true state of mind, but it was for Janus’ benefit. He didn’t want to worry him. Normally he never would have, but Janus had asked in such a way, in such a tone, that he wanted to tell him. 

After all, Janus wanted to help him.

After all, Janus was the good guy.

...Right?


End file.
